§ Mr. Burdenasked the Secretary of State for Defence if, in view of his undertaking that if the defence review leads to a reduction in defence work below the capacity of Chatham Dockyard, the surplus would be switched to other production, he will now indicate what other work this will comprise; and whether it will be Government or private work that has already been negotiated and confirmed.
§ Mr. JuddThe final results of the defence review are still some way off and at this stage it is impossible to estimate whether its outcome will in fact affect the amount of naval work in Chatham Dockyard. Should there be any reduction in naval work the human and capital resources which might be released would be put to alternative use.
§ Mr. Burdenasked the Secretary of State for Defence if, in view of the fact that the workers in Chatham Dockyard are appealing to the Government for more work, he will now give instructions that the "Hartland Point" now lying at Chatham and destined for conversion to an oil rig repair ship, will be con- 246W verted there, instead of being sent to a private shipyard for this work to be progressed as is proposed.
§ Mr. JuddA current review of the Chatham Dockyard programme of work shows that there are problems with the balance of trades in the labour force. This is illustrated by the fact that while some key trades are heavily loaded and on maximum overtime, thus precluding the allocation of additional naval ship refits at the present time, part of the rest of the labour force is slightly overloaded oresulting in waiting time for some workers. Measures are in hand to reduce the amount of waiting time.
"Hartland Point" has ceased to be under the control of the Royal Navy having recently been sold by the Canadian Government to a consortium of private British companies which have decided to place the contract for conversion with a commercial firm. This particular conversion could not have been accommodated within Chatham Dockyard.
§ Mr. Burdenasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many men on the workforce at Chatham Dockyard either have no work or are underemployed; which trades are involved; and what steps he is taking designed to ensure full employment and a full workload in the yard.
§ Mr. JuddChatham Dockyard has a generally full programme of work but, due to trade imbalances and the nature of the dockyard task, pockets of surplus labour arise from time to time. The actual number of workers and the trades concerned vary from day to day and from morning to afternoon. Moreover, waiting time is not occasioned solely by lack of suitable work but often by other factors, common in the ship repairing industry, such as ship movements, restricted working spaces and inclement weather and additionally in present circumstances by material shortages. Chatham Dockyard's programme is reviewed constantly to ensure that the most effective use is being made of the workforce as a whole. The most limiting factor is the capacity of the key trades which are currently overloaded.
§ Mrs. Fennerasked the Secretary of State for Defence what action he intends 247W to take with regard to the vessel "Hartland Point" at present in Her Majesty's Dockyard, Chatham.
§ Mr. Judd"Hartland Point" is no longer under the control of the Royal Navy. She was, until recently, the property of the Canadian Government, who have since sold her to a British consortium of private companies. She will leave Chatham shortly.